ADOT Editorial Style Guide - Arizona Department of Transportation

4. Editorial Style Guide | Punctuation Review
placement with other punctuation. The period and the comma always go within the quotation marks. The colon, em dash, exclamation
point, question mark and semicolon go inside the quotation marks when they are part of the quoted material. They go outside when
they apply to the whole sentence.
Semicolons, ;
in a series. Use semicolons to separate elements of a series when the items in the series are long or when individual segments contain
material that also must be set off by commas: This summer, we’re traveling to Carlsbad, New Mexico; Amarillo, Texas; and St. Louis,
Missouri.
linking independent clauses. Use semicolons when a coordinating conjunction (i.e., for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) is not present: The
on-ramp will be closed this weekend; they are repainting the lines. If a coordinating conjunction is present, use a semicolon before
it only if extensive punctuation also is required in one or more of the individual clauses: They pulled their boats from the water,
sandbagged the retaining walls, and boarded up the windows; but even with these precautions, the island was hard-hit by the
hurricane. If a conjunctive adverb is present (e.g., however, moreover, etc.), use a semicolon and set off the adverb with a comma: The
day was rainy; however, we were warm by the fire. It may sometimes be better to break the clauses into different sentences.
placement with quotation marks. Place semicolons outside quotation marks unless they are part of the quoted material.
Slashes, /
descriptive phrases. 24/7, 9/11.
alternatives. Use to denote alternative words: the writer/director, and/or.
poetry. Use to denote three or fewer separate lines of poetry: Roses are red / violets are blue. Where four or more quoted lines are
necessary, use block formatting.
spacing. For constructions that connect only one word on either side of the mark, no spaces are required: and/or. For quoted verse
and constructions with more than one word on either side of the mark, surround the mark with one space on each side: Cold War /
Red Scare era.
ADOT Guide to editorial standards